Pivoting playground apparatus such as teeter-totters or seesaws are well known in the art. Teeter-totters or seesaws generally comprise an elongated beam pivotally supported above the ground at a midpoint between the ends of the beam by a base for up and down pivotal movement of the ends of the beam relative to the ground. That is, the aforementioned support of the elongated beam enable the ends of the beam to move alternately from a ground abutting or a ground adjacent position to an elevated position such that the elevated end if spaced a substantial distance above the ground. Use of the aforementioned requires a minimum of two people, preferably of similar weight, with each person position at each end of the beam.
Teeter-totter or seesaw apparatus having multiple pivotally mounted elongated beams are also known in the art. An example of the aforementioned is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,112, which teaches a see-saw apparatus having multiple pivotally mounted elongated beams that are resiliently interconnected to each other by a flexible connecting tubular sleeve to enable simultaneous upward and downward movement of each beam member in unison throughout the entire composite length of the interconnected beam members.
Although the aforementioned flexible connecting tubular sleeve work for its intended purpose, namely to allow the connecting ends of the mounted elongated beams to move up and down through the flexing action of the tubular sleeve, one of the problems associated with the use of the tubular sleeve is that the flexing action of the tubular sleeve forms an opening or void at the ends of the tubular sleeve, which could lead to a potential pinch point. That is, since the see-saw apparatus is intend to be used by children, who are curious by nature, it would not be unconceivable that children using the aforementioned see-saw apparatus would stick their fingers into the opening or void thereby leading to their fingers being pinch.